Skin cancer (non melanoma)

All about non melanoma skin cancers - basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers - including symptoms and causes, tests to diagnose skin cancer, treatment including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and current research. Living with skin cancer covers coping with your diagnosis, preventing future skin cancers and skin care.

If you are looking for information about the skin cancer that develops from abnormal moles (melanoma) this is not the right section for you. There is a section about melanoma in CancerHelp UK.

What to ask

You can also find skin cancer organisations providing help and support, a reading list and see where this information comes from.

Did you know that Cancer Research UK has an online forum for people affected by cancer? Cancer Chat is your space to talk about cancer.

Press release: Friends and family are encouraging youngsters to risk health for sunbed glow: As the post-Christmas January blues take hold, young people are risking damage to their health and appearance by using sunbeds on the recommendation of friends and family, according to a new survey by Cancer Research UK.; 19 Jan 2012
News: Scientists uncover reason for second cancers after targeted melanoma treatment: An international study has uncovered how secondary skin cancers sometimes develop in malignant melanoma patients who are treated with an experimental drug.; 19 Jan 2012
News: 'Detox' immune cells linked to skin cancer development: A study funded by Cancer Research UK has provided a surprising insight into the development of a form of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, or SCC.; 6 Jan 2012

News: News digest – ‘stratified’ medicine, government reforms, and improving survival rates: There’s been another glut of fascinating stories this week, most of which focused on aspects of the NHS. Here’s our digest – follow the links for the full story: On Monday, we announced that we’d enrolled the first patients into … Continue reading →; 26 Nov 2011
News: Our Stratified Medicine Programme – what is it and how will it work?: When breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) became available to the NHS in 2006, many hospital pathology labs were caught on the hop. Trastuzumab is designed to treat women whose tumours contain high levels of a protein called Her2, but having … Continue reading →; 21 Nov 2011
News: Headlines about morning sunbathing are misleading: Earlier this week, new research was published about the effects of the body’s daily rhythms – known as the ‘circadian clock’ – on how skin responds to damage caused by UV exposure. It’s an interesting piece of research, carried out … Continue reading →; 27 Oct 2011